Image credit: Twitter Twemoji Image credit: Twitter Twemoji
The scientists, engineers and other investigators stepped around the penguins, who were unfazed by the shipwreck in their midst. The penguins didn’t have to wonder how the AGS Sunshiney flipped upside down and landed so far inland. The penguins didn’t notice the enormous tears in the hull which exposed parts of the lower decks. The penguins didn’t feel a sense of dread, they didn’t anticipate that the frozen body of the captain could be anywhere in the vicinity.
“Timothy” asked Dr. Lopez. “You read the briefing, right?”
Timothy gulped. “Well yes, but I kind of skimmed the part about the ship’s construction and its captain.”
Lopez rolled her eyes.
“Basically the guy, Samuel, was a flat-earther. Really active on about a dozen conspiracy theory forums. But online discussions weren’t enough for him. He had to see the edge of the flat earth for himself,” Lopez said.
Another member of the investigation sighed. They spoke while watching Timothy’s breath condenze in the frozen air.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about the ship’s construction and funding,” said the unnamed person.
“Sorry,” said Timothy. “I think I forgot your name?”
The investigator turned towards Timothy, but their face was obscured by sunglasses, scarves and the hood of their jacket.
“I’m Quarters,” the investigator said.
“Their name was also in the briefing,” said Dr. Lopez.
“Right, right,” said Timothy. He nodded vigorously like a living bobblehead.
“One day, totally out of the blue, this guy announced to his online comrades that he was going on an expedition to the so-called Southern Ice Wall,” said Quarters. “The team up north knows the caption inside and out. But we still know almost nothing about the ship that came down with him.”
After walkeing past the last of the penguins, Timothy, Lopez, Quarters and the rest of the team were standing before the wreckage. They took a minute to catch their breath. Quarters spoke first. “Captain Nakamura, what do you think?”
Nani Nakamura, a former US Navy captain of Japanese-Hawaiian descent, opened her pack.
“We need
Part 2 was written in 15 minutes in a Joy of Writing session. I ran out of time before I could figure out what the team needed next.